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| Classic martial arts movie made fun of by non-martial arts movie fans. |
No Retreat, No Surrender is a Hong Kong/American martial arts movie released in 1985, starring Kurt McKinney, J.W. Fails, Timothy D. Baker, Kim Tai-chung, Peter Cunningham, and Jean-Claude Van Damme in his first major film role. No Retreat, No Surrender was directed by Corey Yuen Kwai, with fight choreography also by him and Mang Hoi.
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| Kurt McKinney is great in this! So much potential as an action star. |
In No Retreat, No Surrender, Kurt McKinney plays Jason Stillwell, a teenage martial artist who is a huge fan of Bruce Lee. His father, Tom Stillwell (played by Timothy D. Baker) owns a martial arts dojo, which the mob wants to take over. Tom refuses to give over the dojo, so their champion Russian fighter, Ivan Krachinsky (played by Jean-Claude Van Damme) is sent in to break his leg. Jason's family ditches their dojo in California and flee to Seattle, Washington.
Jason is the new kid in town, so he gets bullied by kids from the local martial arts school. He immediately befriends RJ (played by J.W. Fails), a very cool and understanding guy (who is also bullied by the kids at the martial arts school). After getting humiliated at a party and then at the local martial arts school, Jason gets into an argument with his father over getting into fights. Jason runs away and asks the spirit of Bruce Lee for guidance. Yes, the spirit of Bruce Lee (played by Kim Tai-chung) comes to life and helps Jason learn Jeet Kune Do! Everything comes to a head when Jason goes to watch a martial arts tournament where Ivan Krachinsky is competing...
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| Jean-Claude Van Damme is an unstoppable monster in this! |
No Retreat, No Surrender is basically the American version of the classic Hong Kong style of martial arts movies, like Snake In The Eagle's Shadow, Drunken Master, Magnificent Butcher, and countless other movies of that type. If you've seen those movies, you know what to expect. This movie has become infamous online for its..."cheesiness". Yes, some of the acting is over the top, and there are some...questionable comedic scenes, but that is how a lot of Hong Kong martial arts movies were back then. The broad acting and comedy is what was popular with audiences in Hong Kong back then, so I assume Corey Yuen (the director) wanted that for the actors' performances. I guess that doesn't really translate well with western audiences. When I watched this back in my younger days, I didn't even notice the over the top performances. I guess I first watched this movie at the right age; I see No Retreat, No Surrender as a classic martial arts movie as opposed to the joke it currently is online.
My friends were the ones who introduced me to this movie. You'd think they would be telling me about how awesome Jean-Claude Van Damme was in this, but no; they were raving about Kurt McKinney! They let me borrow their VHS tape, and yeah, Kurt McKinney lived up to the hype! Not only was he a great martial artist, but you really believed in him. You wanted to see Jason become a hero and overcome the odds. It's unfortunate that McKinney didn't do more martial arts movies, he was really good! He had a lot of potential as an action star. J.W. Fails as RJ plays the best friend you wish you had. He was totally cool, understanding, supportive, and the perfect wingman. His comedic scenes are sometimes awkward, I must admit! Of course, Jean-Claude Van Damme is awesome in this as the unbeatable Russian fighter. He doesn't have many lines, but his physical charisma is off the charts!
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| The fight scenes are fast and hard-hitting! |
Corey Yuen and Mang Hoi brought that Hong Kong kickboxing style to the choreography in No Retreat, No Surrender. The fight scenes may not be as intricately choreographed as many of the Hong Kong movies out at that time, but it's got that rhythm, power, and perfect execution that makes Hong Kong fight scenes so great. Kurt McKinney is awesome in this. He has great skill, and the choreography lets him get to show it off. Jean-Claude Van Damme is amazing in this as well. You see the power and flexibility on full display in his fight scenes. It's also cool to see Van Damme in Hong Kong-style fight scenes. Peter Cunningham also has some fight scenes in this, and he is fast! Cunningham shows off his speed and power in his fight scenes. Most of the fight scenes are kind of quick, with the final battle taking the most time. The final sequence of fights are awesome and worth waiting for. Also, the training sequences are cool as well. If you're a Hong Kong martial arts movie fan, you'll recognize some of the training Jason goes through...
No Retreat, No Surrender is one of my favorite martial arts movies, so of course I recommend it. I will say, it is not the best ever movie, and the action is not the best ever, either; but I think it is very enjoyable. It is basically a family movie safe for all ages (well, maybe eleven and up), as the violence is not too graphic, and there are no bad words in it. A lot of people compare this movie to The Karate Kid, Rocky IV, and The Last Dragon, but those movies don't have the awesome fight scenes this movie has. Give it a chance, you may like it (even if for different reasons than mine).
Reviewed by David Williams
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